Hydra Likes Pepperoni
by Starkreactor
Summary: Tony and Pepper are being chased, big suprise there, and Wolverine of the X-men seems to know who is after them. How crazy could this possibly get? Not too out of hand-right? Movieverse. No swearing or slash, rated just in case.
1. Intruder

Ok, so I finally have an Iron Man story in the works, which seems only fair considering that my user name is Starkreactor. (Can you figure that one out lol) Now, what I would like to say is that one of my favorite authors Alydia Rackham, inspired parts of this story. I know she has already done Wolverine and Iron man in one of her stories, but I realllly wanted to put my two favorite characters in a story, and I couldn't help but jump on the Pepperoni bandwagon. So, Alydia, if it looks like I'm copying, I'm trying not to, but the whole Tony in danger and Wolverine taking him and Pepper to the X school was far too much fun. So just know that this idea is not wholly mine, and I'm trying not to offend anyone =)

* * *

"Tony?"

"Huh?"

Pepper looked around the cluttered machine shop, trying to find her boss somewhere among the paint, Iron Man parts, and car insides. His reply to her call sounded muffled, somewhere off to the left…….

"Marco!" She called sarcastically. It was something they tended to do when she couldn't find him.

"Polo." He replied, looking at her as he slid out from under the car he was working on. His shirt was stained with oil, and he looked like he had rolled out of bed and under the car. Pepper smiled to herself, looking at her disheveled boss. Nothing new there.

"I brought your coffee, and you have a meeting to attend to immediately."

Tony had slid back under the car, but quickly re-emerged when he heard the word 'immediately'. "Potts."

She looked up from her Blackberry. "Yes."

"You are not on time with something."

"The meeting wasn't pre-scheduled Mr. Stark, the man is waiting up stairs. And I don't think you want to make him wait." She added as she glanced at her watch.

Tony was back under the car, and his response was once again muffled. "Why? He have something against the Iron Man? Honestly Pepper, have him make an appointment. What can anyone do against an Iron man?"

"What about adamantium man? Bub, I don't think you know what you're up against." Tony slowly pulled himself out from under the vehicle to stare at the intruder now standing behind Pepper. He wasn't very tall, but he was solid muscle, and Tony got the feeling that no one sober would mess with him. He had a distinctly feral appearance, his hair curling strangely into something like wolf ears. He looked rather serious at the moment, his arms folded across his chest.

"You wait much longer and I'll have to carry you out myself."

Tony didn't think the man was kidding. "Who are you, and why would you have to carry me anywhere?" Tony asked harshly, standing now and walking towards Pepper and the stranger.

"Not much time to explain, but it's your skin. Somebody is all set to assassinate the invincible Iron Man, and Professor X sent me to get you out of here before they had the chance. You are going to want to bring Potts too."

Tony bristled at the man's nerve, all but forgetting that he was _not_ invincible at the moment. In fact, the strong glow of the arc over his heart was an easy target almost blaring 'shoot here' Caution, however, had never been Tony's strong point. Nor was patience.

"Look, if you are going to haul me and my girl-" He hesitated, choking off mid word. "My assistant anywhere, then you better prove that this assassin is more than my security _and _suit can handle."

The man opened his mouth to deliver a smart alec remark when he turned suddenly, like he was on alert. He sniffed the air, his right hand curling into a tight fist and his left pushing Pepper back behind him. Tony was utterly bewildered by his behavior. He was acting like a hunting dog that had just caught the scent. Without warning, the man bolted up the stairs, disappeared for a moment, and ran back down into Tony's workshop. Immediately he grabbed Pepper, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms, and shoved Tony towards his suit with a muttered. "Get it on genius." Before Tony could even think about reacting, the man had his suit sequence initiated and he found himself incased in his armor. As soon as he was free of the robots, he had intended to beat the snot out of this guy who DARE touch Pepper, but he was immediately distracted. Fifteen men, all in matching suits with gas masks, machine guns, and swords suddenly burst into Tony's lab, firing gas cans into the center of the room. They immediately spewed a green gas, and Tony barely saw the man cover Pepper with his body before the gas covered them. Jarvis, who apparently had only survived inside the suit's hardware, spoke up.

"Sir, it appears we are under attack."

"Really? I had no clue Jarvis."

"I would watch that gas sir, you should be protected, but sensors indicate that it is methyl isocyanate. Mrs. Potts will not be protected."

Tony's heart began hammering harder that it had since his capture when he thought of the gas' terrible effects on Pepper. He had to get her out- _**now.**_ An adrenaline rush pushed him through the mass, crushing aside the men as they poured through, more coming than the initial group; some with new weapons. Tony ducked and rolled, heading in Pepper's general direction as a missile barely missed his armored head. He reached where he had seen her last, only to come to a horrified stop. The window to his right was shattered. She wouldn't have jumped, would she? Without a backward glance he launched himself through the window, looking out over the sunny landscape for any sign of Pepper.

He dove closer to the ground, shouting her name, not really caring that he was still under attack. Suddenly he saw her a few feet away, laying close to where she had landed apparently. The man was bending over her. Tony swooped over, fear and anger boiling in his blood, ready to over flow accordingly. When he got close enough to really see, he choked back a gasp. The stranger was _kissing_ her! Tony could barely keep himself steady when she didn't fight back. Jarvis interrupted his shocked thoughts.

"Sir, are you all right, your heartbeat faltered for a moment, and your breathing is dangerously erratic."

Tony didn't have the strength to tell the over observant AI to shut up.


	2. Missunderstanding and Road Trip

Pepper had barely seen what was going on before Logan, as he had introduced himself earlier, had swept her off her feet, immediately shoving Tony over by his suit, hitting the initiation button, and running. They hadn't got far either before he dropped to his knees, curling over her protectively as a green gas quickly filled the room. Before she had any time to react at all, Logan had pinched her nose shut, and aggressively shoved his lips over hers. Her first instinct was to pull away, and fight back, and fight she did, but only long enough for her to see what the gas was doing to Logan's exposed skin. It had begun to blister immediately, and Pepper suddenly realized that Logan was protecting her, acting like an improvised gas mask. She relaxed and held on to him cooperatively- just in time for him to dive through the window and fall twenty feet to the rock below. She waited for the painful impact, or at least the crack of Logan's legs breaking as he hit the rock, but all she heard was a sharp hiss as he exhaled in pain, and rolled off of her, gasping as his skin continued to blister. She was about to reach over and ask if he was all right when Tony swooped down and scooped her up, darting angrily off into the sky, leaving Logan panting by the house.

"Tony- what? We can't just leave him there, he's hurt." She protested, shoving Tony uselessly and concentrating on _not_ looking down. There was a dangerous growl that came from Tony's helmet before he ground out.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did we leave your boyfriend back there?"

Pepper flinched at his biting tone before becoming very confused. "Boyfriend- what? Tony, what on earth are you-" Sudden understanding dawned on Pepper and she laughed. "Tony! Logan was _protecting _me. The gas was lethal and he was breathing for me!"

Tony stopped mid-flight, and looked down at her, completely shocked. Why hadn't he thought of that. That was really quite smart…..

"Oh no, it's lethal." Pepper muttered. "Tony! We have to get back, get him to a hospital, something!" She panicked.

Tony saw her urgency and turned around. He couldn't help seeing this stranger in a different light now that he knew that he had saved Pepper's life. "you didn't enjoy that, though." He asked nervously. "At all?"

Pepper shot him an accusing glare and smacked his chest, immediately wishing she hadn't. She cursed under her breath and rubbed the sore appendage.

Tony came back up to his house in no time at all, scanning the area for Logan. He saw nothing, and noticed with a shock that despite everything happening in about two minutes, there was no sign that the attackers were still there. In fact, besides that broken window, there was hardly any sign of an attack at all.

"Where did he go? Do you think they took him?" Pepper asked, looking around franticly.

Before Tony could say anything, there was a honk down below. Tony flew for the car and landed outside it, only to see Logan in the front seat. He rolled down the window. "Get the lady in here and follow from the air. They're gone for now, but I don't know how long that will last. Hydra is persistent. I'm sure they will follow."

"What if she wants to ride with me?" Tony asked tersely, all but forgetting that Logan had saved Pepper. He was still feeling a little jealous.

"Oh yea, I'm sure she wants to ride open cockpit for the next three thousand miles." Logan shot back.

Tony pursed his lips. "Where exactly are we going?"

"New York."

Tony was flying low over Logan's car, watching him and Pepper _very_ closely. They had been going all day, and the sun was starting to set when Logan pulled into a gas station with a restaurant. Tony landed next to Logan as he parked and got out of the car, flipping his face mask up so he could talk.

"We're stopping here for dinner and anything else we might need. You coming in? Once we're done here we're not stopping again for the night." Logan informed him.

Tony folded his arms with a metallic clink. "You really think they'll let me in?"

"I'll explain for you Tony." Pepper assured him. "Leaving out certain details of course."

Tony nodded gratefully. Pepper went in the restaurant while Logan filled the car. She emerged a moment later, motioning both men towards her. "Tony, they understand, um, sort of. And are honored to have Iron Man dining with them." She laughed, obviously remembering something amusing that Tony had missed. "They are giving us a booth, they think it'll hold you."

Logan chuckled as he went past the grumbling Iron Man and into the restaurant. "Come on Tony. Let's go." Pepper chuckled. He followed her in, keeping his head down. He didn't need all the stares. "Tony Stark, never thought I'd see the day where you didn't want to be seen." Pepper laughed, guiding him over to a booth where Logan was already enjoying some coffee.

Tony stared at the flimsy booth, surprised that it was even holding Logan. He promptly, and grudgingly, sat on the floor, Indian style. His glare dared anyone staring at him to say what they were thinking. Everyone turned around and became suddenly interested in their food.

The waitress came to their table only a moment later, obviously _very_ interested in the strange group. She cleared her throat nervously and glanced down at Tony. "My name is Jess, I'll be your server today. What can I get you?"

"Ice tea please." Pepper said, acting like nothing was wrong at all.

Tony appreciated that. Seeing Logan already had his coffee, Jess turned to Tony. "Sir?"

"Water." Tony stated. Jess marked their orders down and walked off.

"So where exactly are we going?" Tony asked. "I know you said New York, but where in New York?"

"Westchester. Apparently Logan lives at a school there." Pepper informed him.

Tony made a face. "You guys been doing a lot of talking, huh?"

"Well, we have been in there since this morning, there isn't much else to do."

"So what else do you know?" Tony asked, wanting desperately to cut out the mental images of what _else _they could have been doing while in the car. Was he really that paranoid about Pepper?

"I can't really tell you anything else in here, but once we're alone I'll fill you in." Pepper said quickly as the waitress came back with their drinks. Tony grasped the glass very carefully, his metal fingers making it interesting.

"Can I take your order?" Jess asked, watching Tony exclusively even though she was talking to everyone.

"I'll have a Ruben and Cesar salad." Pepper said.

"Burger and fries." Logan asked.

Jess took down their orders and turned to Tony. He thought for a moment, and ordered a BLT and fries.

While Jess went to get their orders filled, Tony began rifling through a small compartment in his leg. Finding what he wanted, he pulled out a small screwdriver and used it to undo his gloves. He had wanted to avoid taking them off now, considering the pain they were, but he really didn't want to get mayo in his repulsors.

Eating without his gloves proved to be helpful. He was sure that if he hadn't taken them off then he probably would have mayo in more than just his gauntlets. They were finishing their meals when Tony suddenly spoke up. "Crap."

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked.

"Crap." Tony said again, looking at the men's room and wishing that he had thought ahead when he had made the suit. Why had he always assumed that he'd be able to get out of it whenever he wanted? "Note to idiot," Tony muttered. "Make suit _convenient_."

By the time Tony was finished, he came back out of the bathroom with his helmet securely in place. He marched right out the door, and flew up to hover several feet in the air, waiting impatiently for Logan and Pepper.

Reviews are your friend! (and mine =P)


	3. Arival! Finally, I was getting stiff

Hi guys!! Here is part three!! Thank you Hamlets-Pirate for the first review!! I hope you like =)

Tony stayed awake until midnight, tuning in on the car conversation through a mike he installed in the dashboard. "So Logan, you jumped pretty far earlier, and that gas should have melted your lungs, how did you survive?" Tony asked once they were a safe distance from the diner.

"You ever hear of a mutant Stark?" Logan asked, his voice coming in clear through Tony's helmet.

"Yea, they are people who are born with altered DNA right?"

"Right. I heal fast."

Tony thought for a moment. "That's handy."

"Uh-huh."

"That's what I didn't want to tell you in the diner Tony, mutants are really persecuted." Pepper piped up.

"That makes sense. Anything else you can do?" Tony asked, now really interested.

"Yea."

Tony waited. "You want to tell me?"

"My senses are sharper than a normal human, I have two sets of retractable claws, and my skeleton is covered with adamantium."

Tony's eyes bulged. "Really?! The adamantium can't be part of your mutation can it?"

"No, it was given to me." Logan's voice was calm and quiet, but it held a barrier in the tone telling Tony not to press further.

"What do you mean by retractable claws?" Pepper asked, sounding curious. There was a muffled metallic 'snickt' and Tony heard Pepper give a surprised shriek.

"Oh my gosh! Can I?" She asked tentatively, a sound like awe in her voice. Tony swooped down and rode at passenger level near Pepper's door so he could see what she was doing. Logan was driving with one hand, the other held out complacently towards Pepper, three razor blades jutting from in between his knuckles. They glinted almost beautifully in the light from the car, even catching a faint blue as the arc shone through the window. Pepper took his hand, gently turning it over, studying Logan's unique weapons. She traced a finger along one claw, Logan watching her out of the corner of his eye.

Tony got nervous, the thin blades looking much to sharp for anyone except Logan to handle. "Careful Potts." Tony breathed, watching her.

"Are these natural?" Pepper asked, letting Logan have his hand back.

Logan nodded. "My nickname tends to be Wolverine." He told her with a chuckle.

Tony ended up setting his suit on autopilot and falling asleep, the armor automatically following Logan's car. When he woke up, it was just getting light, and he was stiffer than he had been in a long time. He took the liberty of wearing his own personal vehicle to shoot into the sky, swooping and diving to loosen up. It helped tremendously. He finished just as Logan stopped in front of another gas station/diner for breakfast. Tony cringed but went in cooperatively. This went on for all most three days while they traveled, only stopping morning and night. At first Tony didn't approve, but Logan had snacks for Pepper in his car so he lived with it.

"Tony? Tony. TONY!!"

Pepper shouted into the intercom, suddenly wondering if it was broken. Tony's grumbled reply told her it wasn't he was just asleep. Happily apparently.

"What Potts?"

"How can you possibly be comfortable in that thing?"

Tony swooped down by the window, looking in through her window. "Genius remember?"

Pepper rolled her eyes.

"So why the wake up call?"

"We're here." She replied, nodding towards a set of iron gates that parted gracefully into a long drive. Behind them was a huge stone mansion.

Tony gawked. "I thought we were going to Logan's headquarters, not Hogwarts."

Pepper laughed. "It's very well disguised. Logan said the base was all underground."

Tony tried to pretend that Pepper's vast knowledge of the mutant didn't irk him.

Logan pulled up outside of the garage, parking his car in a gravel driveway. The sun was now up fully, and Tony's helmet readout informed him that it was around eight. He landed gracefully beside the car, hurrying to open Pepper's door for her and holding out his hand to help her up. She smiled with surprise and took it. "Being a bit formal, aren't we Mr. Stark?" She asked, laughing.

"No ma'am, just setting a good example for the kids." He joked.

"Well good morning Logan, Miss Potts, Mr. Stark." A warm voice welcomed from behind. "I hope you had a safe trip?"

Tony turned to see a man in a wheelchair coming towards them, a smile lighting up his features. Tony couldn't help but feel comfortable around the man.

"Mornin' Professor." Logan greeted, unloading a suitcase that Tony had no idea he had in the back. He proceeded to carry it and a small duffel up the stairs and into the huge building.

"I am Professor Charles Xavier." Xavier said, holding out his hand and shaking Tony's. "I am sorry we had to meet under such dire circumstances Mr. Stark, but it is a pleasure."

Tony had flipped his helmet up, but it still felt strange that he was shaking this man's hand through his glove. "So," Tony began, trying to figure out where to start.

The Professor laughed. "It's all right Mr. Stark, why don't you follow Kurt" He motioned towards a man standing at the top of the steps "to your room. You go ahead and have a shower, and a meal will be brought to you. Once your settled I'll explain everything."

Tony had looked at the man Xavier had gestured towards, but couldn't stop staring after. He had quite the lean, a muscular build, a white button up shirt and jeans not covering his very peculiar skin. It was _blue._ A deep, midnight, shade of blue. Even more bizarre was Kurt's pointed ears and long, devil-like tail. He stood there waiting patiently for Tony and Pepper to be finished, smiling at them like a friendly demon.

Once the Professor finished talking, Kurt motioned for Tony to follow, and he did, very much in a fog. Kurt lead them through the mansion, past rec rooms, class rooms, dorm rooms, rooms full of teens, rooms where a few adults were discussing a lesson plan; all in all, it was obvious that the mansion served as a school, but it didn't _feel_ like one. It felt like home, like one big family lived here. Tony soon found himself in front of a nice room, the door open and waiting for him. He glanced on the hotel like bed, seeing that the suitcase Logan had carried in earlier was now sitting on it. He realized that it was his; Logan must have packed for him. Kurt graciously opened the door next to Tony's room for Pepper, giving her a theatrical bow as she entered. She smiled and thanked him.

"Your quite welcome mien friund." Kurt answered, his accent distinctly German. "If you need anything else just call, any of the adults and most of the children can be of service." He said, smiling graciously, showing his pointed teeth.

"Yea, thanks." Tony said awkwardly, still in shock. Kurt turned gracefully and went down the hall. Out of the corner of his eye Tony noticed that the demon-like mutant had a rosary hanging from his pocket.


	4. Help?

Ok, I know this is a short ch, but updates will go pretty fast for now. As for my reviewers, thank you thank you thank you!! I will send you all cookies. I will also try and pay attention to your suggestions, so if I can I will add the characters that you like =) Enjoy! *Fluff warning*

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No sooner had Pepper entered her room, noticing that Logan had grabbed her a duffel of clothes and toiletries, did she hear Tony call for her help. She sighed, shaking her head. Couldn't he take care of himself for five minutes? She was quite sore and stinky from being in the car for three days, and despite Logan's best efforts to be a gentleman along the trip, she _really _wanted to just shower and curl up in the inviting bed.

"Pepper?" Tony said sheepishly, poking his de-helmeted head around the door jam. "I could really use your help."

She stared for a moment at his pathetic look, trying to remember that she was mad at him, but she just couldn't. He looked too cute when he needed something. "What Tony?" She asked, following him into his room.

He looked down at his partially armored body. It was obvious that he had already tried to get the suit off, but so far he had only succeeded in removing the gauntlets, helmet, and part of one boot. "I could use a little help with some of the clasps and locks." He said a little sheepishly. "I just realized that I can't really reach them all with the tools you have to use. If you could just take that wrench-" He said, nodding his head towards the bed where four strange looking tools were laid out, "And pop the latches on my back and sides that would be great."

She walked over to the bed, quite amused. She found the tool that looked the most like a wrench, and picked it up. "This one?"

He nodded. Pepper walked behind him and scanned the ruby plating to try and see what latches he was talking about. "Which ones Tony? You have quite a few back here."

Tony sighed, working his jaw as he thought of the best way to explain what he wanted. "Ok, you see the flap on my left shoulder?"

She nodded. "Flip that up and underneath will be a silver screw. Below that is a indent, it'll be red, and you just need to wedge the flat of the wrench under that and flip it up."

Pepper did as she was told, quickly finding the latch and unlocking it with a satisfying clink.

"Good Potts, now same thing on the other side." Tony instructed her.

Twenty minutes later……..

"Ok, on three, pull." Pepper commanded, gripping tightly to Tony's left boot, the only piece of armor yet to come off.

"One, two, three!" She heaved with all her might, the stubborn piece of equipment not wanting to yield. Just when she gave it another forceful tug however, it came off with a click, sending her flying on her backside. Tony's laughter came from the bed that he was now laying on, rolling back and forth in his newfound freedom.

Pepper scowled. "Yes, I am all right thank you." She informed him sarcastically.

He gave her his crooked grin, the same one he had used after she thought she had killed him by yanking the magnet out of his chest. She tossed a piece of the boot plating at him. He was still laughing.

"Last time I help you with anything. Will that be all Mr. Stark?" She asked, her arms crossed across her chest.

Tony stood up, still smiling. "Yes, thank you. That will be all miss Potts."

Pepper tried to frown, but Tony's dirty, little boy disheveled appearance thwarted her efforts; just like they always did.

Suddenly she noticed something, and with out thinking she put her hand on his arc reactor. "Wait, isn't this supposed to come off?" She asked, fingering the thick plate over the device.

Tony looked down. "Oh, yea." He said, lifting his hand to pry the extra plating off. Their hands met, and incidentally so did their eyes. Tony slowly finished prying the piece off, letting it drop without really moving his hand or his eyes from Pepper's. With the plate now removed, Pepper could feel Tony's heart beating steadily behind the arc reactor. That feeling of his life flickering under her fingers nearly took her breath away. Feeling the warm surface of the arc, she realized how much she actually _liked_ the small device. She found the glow quite comforting. It was the steady reminder of what she almost lost, sure, but it was also a sign that he was alive, that his heart was still beating it's strong, slow rhythm. She had normally taken life for granted, but when she was with Tony, ever since his time in captivity, she never did.

Suddenly, both realized how awkward the situation was and they broke apart.

"I better go, uh-" Tony licked his lips. "Shower."

Pepper nodded. "Yea, me too." She hurried out of the room.

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Ok, because that one was mostly fluff, and I'm sure some people are ticked cuz it was short, I'll make this a dual upload. =D (Reviews are still ok =P)


	5. Hydra Oh Joy

Here is the next part of the dual upload, enjoy!!

* * *

"Well Mr. Stark. I know you have been having a busy and stressful three days in your suit, and would probably like to rest, but I assume that your curiosity is stronger?" Xavier asked.

Tony, Pepper, Logan, and Professor Xavier were sitting in the Professor's study, Tony finally getting filled in on everything going on. He nodded in response.

"Are you familiar with Hydra Mr. Stark?"

"Call me Tony, and no."

"Hydra is an underground organization of ninjas. They are like a super charged mafia. A favorite past time seems to be murdering people; heroes lately, and resurrecting them to their own purpose. I believe that is what they intended to do to you."

Tony made a face. Under ground resurrecting ninjas? That sounded like a bad movie, or maybe a comic book. "So your telling me that a mafia of undead guys with a black fetish wanted to kill me and bring me back as one of them? That's more original than Raja I guess."

Xavier nodded. "They are all very hard to track because they have no vital signs."

Tony's eyebrows went up. "None?"

Logan shook his head. "None at all. No breath, no heartbeat, nothing. They're not even warm. That's part of why they were able to get past your security. Or any security for that matter." He added.

"Huh. So what now?"

"We keep you here until you are safe." Xavier answered.

"What about my company and everything? Just because somebody else is trying to kill me doesn't mean I can just drop everything."

Pepper made a face. Somebody _else_. Great.

"I have contacted the officials of your company as well as S.H.E.I.L.D., and they have an official story as to why you have decided that you and Miss Potts have gone on a spontaneous vacation. As of now you don't know when you will be back. You are enjoying yourselves too much." Xavier gave a knowing smile.

Tony grinned. On vacation with Pepper. He could live with that.

"So if you know about these guys, why aren't they taken care of yet?"

"There are thousands of them, they are spread all over the country, and we have no idea who the leader is."

"Well I guess that's a good reason." Tony shrugged. "How come we haven't heard of their activities before? You know, like missing persons and stuff."

"You have." Xavier said darkly. "Most of the missing persons and many of the disasters on the news are secretly caused by Hydra. They are experts on covering their tracks and throwing the scent while they are at it."

"Great. So I'm stuck here until we're sure that they can't get me, witch seems perfectly sane considering they are practically impossible to exterminate."

"No one is making you stay, but we were hoping to keep you safe until the imminent threat wanes. As for the extermination, I believe that Nick Fury's Avenger Initiative could prove useful there. If the program is successful Hydra will be a major target."

"So your part of the Avenger Initiative too? Does Nick really think he can get all these super powered loners to work together?" Tony asked, remembering his conversation with the Colonel when he had visited him in Malibu.

"The X-men and Fantastic four work together well. And Nick isn't forcing anyone. The people at my school join voluntarily."

"Wait, I've heard of the Fantastic Four, but X-men? And who at your school joined?"

"I did. And the X-men is our team here." Logan spoke up.

Tony raised his eyebrows. Logan didn't strike him as a team player.

"Most of the rest of the X-men are part of the Avengers too. Spiderman joined a week ago, and we even have a squad of allies under water with Namor." Logan added.

"Namor?" Pepper asked, now thoroughly absorbed in the conversation.

"An underwater prince, he and many of his warriors have agreed to help us." Professor X explained.

"Wow, Nick wasn't kidding when he said that I wasn't the only superhero around." Tony muttered, absorbing the information.

"Yea." Logan said. "You're not the first to come up with the save the world complex."

Tony laughed.

"So your saying that unless Tony joins the Avenger Initiative, Hydra will never be defeated?" Pepper asked accusingly.

Xavier smiled but shook his head. "No Miss Potts. I am not trying to push Mr. Stark into anything he doesn't want to do. In my opinion it is bad to have the Initiative designed like such a militia, but I cannot deny that I think it is a good idea to have the group in the first place."

Tony frowned, thinking.

"You don't have to decide anything now, but if you do want to join I will arrange a meeting for you with Colonel Fury. Why don't you relax from your recent upheaval. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. Take a few days to mull it over."

Tony and Pepper had slept through the night and half the day, not even hearing the explosion from the mutant on the second floor that Logan claimed to have happened around midnight. When Tony woke up, Pepper was long gone, and many of the students were finishing up their day, ready to enjoy a luxurious weekend. He wandered out of his room, passing several students as they headed to put school supplies in their dorms. Some were obviously a mutant, some not. The mansion was very beautiful, not modern like Tony's. He loved his house in Malibu, but there was something so warm and close about this atmosphere that he almost didn't want to go back. After he had eaten, a tall, dark skinned woman approached him, smiling brilliantly. Her hair was a striking white against her skin, and fell well past her shoulders. She had a distinctly exotic build, very beautiful.

"Hello Tony." She greeted, a slight accent in her voice. Tony noticed that Pepper was behind her, wearing very loose casual clothes. Not something that he had _ever_ seen Pepper wear. She looked stunning.

"Hey." He greeted lamely, slightly distracted.

"I am Ororo Munroe. I was showing Virginia around the school, would you like to come?"

"Sure." Tony replied, following her.

Ororo lead them around the inside of the building first, then the grounds. Despite the mansion and it's property's immense size, Tony still found that it didn't _feel_ like some campus. The grounds were very beautiful, many acres of forest, the entire property far enough away from the major populous that it had a nice peace to it. The part of the mansion that Tony really couldn't help but love however, was the bottom level. The X Jet, the X-men's costumes, and oh the technology! Tony felt quite at home. His favorite by far was the danger room. He was fascinated by the realistic holograms and simulations.

Four days later and Pepper was still enjoying herself. No schedule to keep, none of Tony's old _acquaintances_ come back to visit, nothing but a long needed vacation. It did feel weird to have free time, and sometimes she felt rather like she needed to get back to work, but somebody around the school would have something new for her and dispel the feeling. She, ironically, hadn't seen Tony much at all during that time, and she finally wondered what he was doing. She descended to the lower levels of the mansion and started looking for him, assuming that the extensive technology would have drawn him there. She checked a few of the labs before entering the danger room's observing chamber, finally finding him. He was suited in his armor, battling a giant robot simulation in what looked like a war zone. She watched in fascination as he finished the monster off and landed, commanding the end of the simulation, and walking out of view.

Pepper followed him out of the simulation to find him in the X-men's suiting up room. He was standing at the end of one of the glass cases, holding still as several robot arms descended and began releasing him from his suit. He looked up to see her there just as the robots finished.

"Oh, hello Miss Potts. This is much quicker than when I try and do it." He said, stepping out of the boots. His suit hung in convenient pieces on the wall, waiting for the next time he needed it.

"I have made some upgrades though. Next time it needs to come off by hand it is mostly pressure seals that Jarvis can release. I'm still working on the convenience factor, but for now this is good. It sure is a pain not having all my materials though." He finished, sounding disappointed.

"At least we have somewhere to stay. This place is fascinating." Pepper reasoned. "Have you met Bobby or Peter yet? Oh! And Spider man stopped by this morning too."

"Yea, I've met quite a few, Spidy is a genius! You know that he is a science major, along with being Spiderman? He was quite interesting to talk to." Tony said, changing behind a curtain into his regular clothes. "He really liked Jarvis." He added, coming out from behind the curtain in jeans and a tank top.

"I thought Jarvis was stuck in your suit." Pepper said, puzzled.

"His main programming is in there, but I have uploaded a full copy into the entire underground here. He will even stay here with the Professor when we leave. Right Jarvis?" Tony finished, calling out to the AI.

"That is correct sir." Jarvis' familiar voice replied.

"I'm programming him with the X-men's preferences and a few extra programs for here though."

"I hope you got permission first?" Pepper asked, slightly apprehensive.

"Pepper!" Tony put a hand on his chest, acting offended. "I can't believe you don't trust me!"

* * *

I know, ackward ending, stay tuned for an interesting basket ball game! =D


	6. Basket Ball Games

Here is the promised basket ball chapter my faithful readers!

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Tony was walking on the grounds, enjoying the fresh air. As much as he loved the underground technology inside the school, he was starting to feel like a bat holed up in the cave. He needed to get out. Suddenly, he heard a commotion from behind some trees.

"Shut up shorty.!"

"Whoa, dude, watch the claws!!"

"Hey!! No fair!"

"Just because I'm kicking all your sorry butts-"

"Stop showing off Jean!"

"You said it was a power game, you asked for it!"

"HA! Got it metal man, catch!"

Tony stepped out from behind the tree trunk to see Logan, Peter, Jean, Scott, and four others that he didn't recognize all playing basket ball. Peter was completely armored up, his silver skin glinting in the sun. With a signal, Peter threw the ball up in the air, crouching in the same instant. Logan leapt up Peter's massive frame, pushing off of his back and nailing the ball with his claws. While still in the air, Logan flipped his wrist, sending the ball into the hoop with a deafening slam dunk. He swung on the hoop for a moment before dropping and resuming the game. Tony was shocked to see that the ball hadn't deflated. Logan's claws had gone all the way through!

"Hey Tony!" Jean greeted, halting the game and waving.

"Hey guys, playing basket ball with an invincible ball?" He asked, eyeing the object.

"It's pure rubber." Jean explained. "Logan and Peter were always popping them, so the Professor had a special one made.

Tony's eyebrows went up. That was a good idea. "Isn't it a little heavy now?"

Jean shrugged. "Not if you have powers to help you out." She looked around at the group. "Oh, Tony, have you met Peter, Longshot, Remy, and Warren?" She asked.

"No, we have two Peters now?"

Jean nodded. "I think you have met him already, you just didn't know it was him."

Tony looked confused.

"Maybe this will refresh your memory." Peter said, and with that he launched into an impressive back flip and hung from what looked like web from the basketball hoop.

Tony gaped. "Spiderman?"

Peter grinned, still upside-down. "I decided my secret was safe here, so I let it out."

"Huh. So who are the others?" Tony asked, looking around.

"The one with wings is Warren, you can call him Angel too." Peter said, seeming perfectly comfortable hanging like he was. "The dude with the trench coat is Remy, or Gambit if you like." He said, pointing to a man with wild hair and flame red eyes. "And this is Longshot, he doesn't have a real name." Pete pointed to a casual looking youth, his long hair cut into a tousled gold heap.

"Nice to meet you all. Have room for another player?" Tony asked, grinning.

"I don't know if you could keep up." Gambit teased, his accent rich and foreign.

"Give me a minute to put on something more comfortable." Tony said, winking to Spidy. Peter grinned and gave him a thumbs up, or thumbs down from Tony's perspective.

Tony came clunking down the stairs a moment later, passing the living room where Pepper was sitting. "Tony? What on earth are you doing?" She asked, glancing up and noticing him.

"Playing basket ball."

"In your suit?"

"Yea."

Pepper waited for further explanation. "Why!?"

"Because Miss Potts, I am not a mutant." He explained calmly before walking out the door.

Pepper stood still for a moment, still not getting it. Then she followed him.

He stopped at the basketball court and she sat down on a nearby bench to watch.

"All right, this do Remy?" He asked, holding out his arms so Gambit could appraise the suit.

The Cajun stared. "Nice ride!"

"Thanks. What are the teams?"

"You, me, Spidy, Scott and Gambit on this side." Logan said, motioning to the left of the court. "Jean, you Angel, Pete, and Longshot on that side."

The teams formed up and Tony surveyed his opponents. Pete was _really_big. Longshot didn't look like a problem, and what could Jean do? With Logan's signal the game started. Tony immediately felt like he was playing a weird version of football. Logan started with the ball and passed it to him, Colossus coming over to block him from the hoop. Colossus' block was way too much like a tackle. Tony was knocked backwards and the ball flew from his hands. Just as Longshot made an impressive leap for the ball (OOH, that's where he got his name from.) a web beat him by a split second, yanking it out of his way. Longshot landed gracefully and threw two small knives, aiming for the ball as Spiderman made an air summersault and slam dunk. Before the knives could hit anything they shouldn't , a glowing playing card hit them and exploded. Tony twisted around to see Gambit lower his hand.

"Whoa." Tony said, picking himself up off the ground. "I hate to see you guys at football."

"Sorry if I hurt you." The big silver Russian apologized.

"I'm fine, ready to continue?" Tony didn't wait for anyone's reply before motioning to Logan, who once again had the ball.

Logan flipped his wrist, gracefully launching the ball towards Tony. Before it could reach him, Warren launched up, batting the ball out of its path with a wing before catching it. He hovered mid air for a split second when Tony touched his thrusters, almost bouncing off the pavement as his boot jets put him on level with Warren. Before Warren could react, Tony blasted the ball out of his hands with his repulsors and caught it in a clean slam-dunk maneuver.

Spidy grinned. "Nice one shell head!"

Tony frowned. Shell head? He had not time to dwell on it however when Longshot came rushing towards him, grabbing the ball and back flipping towards the other hoop. He was about to make the basket when Scott blasted the ball out of his hands with his lasers. Jean caught the ball telepathically and knocked her husband over with it on her way to making the basket.

Tony was so tired by the time they finished playing that he wanted to lay right down and sleep on the court. Everyone else looked tired too, though some more than others. Glancing at his in-built clock, Tony saw that they had been playing for three hours strait. That would explain it.

"That's it. We need a new ball." Warren said, dropping the mangled lump of rubber. There were several gouges and slice marks in it and it now looked more like a lump of clay than a ball.

"Anyone want to join me in the pool?" Gambit asked, already stripping off his shirt.

"I'll join you in a minute." Tony said just as a huge splash was heard. It could have only come from Peter.

That night Tony slept better than he had in his entire life. He had been living at the school for a week now, and still hadn't given Xavier an answer. In a way he didn't want to; he liked living there too much. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Just after midnight three figures crept silently through Tony's window, not a sound to give them away. The leader motioned for his companions to stand by the door, carefully guarding it with their boots and weapons. Seeing that he was secure, he pulled a muffled gun out from under his robes, padding over to where Tony was fast asleep. He was on his back, the arc covered partly by his hand. The intruder reached a gloved hand out to gently move Tony's protective limb, fully exposing the glowing life source. Satisfied, the man aimed the gun, placing it right up against the arc- and he pulled the trigger.


	7. Woods

There was a shot, and Tony felt a dull thump impact his chest. He woke suddenly, gasping for air as the wounded area began to throb. Before he could even try to really gain his bearings through the pain, there was a commotion and he barely saw a flash of silver and heard Logan's feral roar reverberate through the silence. He felt Pepper's hands on his face, and her frantic calling of his name.

"Tony! Oh my gosh, Tony!! Talk to me!"

The scuffle continued for a short amount of time before ending with the shattering of a window. Once it was quiet, Tony was able to focus his vision, the pain in his chest turning more into a sharp, clearing pain.

"Pepper?" He whispered.

"Tony! Are you all right?! What happened?"

Tony furrowed his brow, breathing and hissing through the pain as he tried to remember. "Was, asleep-" He frowned.

"Hydra happened." Warren said darkly. Tony hadn't even realized that the mutant was in the room before. Good thing too, he probably would have thought he was dead.

"What? I thought they couldn't find us here!" Pepper shrieked, panic destroying her normally calm voice.

"Apparently they found us." Warren sighed.

"Did-you..get them?" Tony breathed.

"They fled, but Wolverine is tracking them right now." Warren soothed. "Tony, we had better get you to the med lab, fast."

"Not….that….bad." Tony protested, trying to sit up. Pepper shoved him back down as gently as she could in her panic.

"NOT THAT BAD??? TONY YOU JUST GOT SHOT!!!" She exploded, her voice growing steadily in volume and pitch.

Tony winced. "Angel, take him down there NOW." Pepper ordered.

Warren hurried forward and scooped Tony up as gently as possible and carried him down into the lower levels, laying him on an examination table.

"It isn't as bad as it could be Pepper." The mutant tried to soothe as more of the adults joined them in the lab, Hank getting his tools together. "The arc is still functioning, and the bullet didn't even make it through the shield."

"It, it didn't?" Pepper stammered, numbing now that the adrenaline was ebbing.

"No, take a look."

Pepper inched forward, looking down at Tony's chest. The arc _was_ still glowing, but there was severe bruising all ready forming around it, and blood was seeping from where it had been fused neatly with his skin. The bullet was embedded in the glass, and it was cracked, but it hadn't actually damaged the device.

"Did…you……really……think I would……leave the arc…unprotected…Pepper?" Tony gasped as Hank came back and gently probed Tony's sternum.

"It's bullet proof?" She asked in a haze.

Tony gave a pained nod.

Pepper had to sit down. She was more than relieved that he wasn't fatally wounded, but the relief drained her. She had been so sure that she would loose him.

"Well Tony, I'd say once again your genius saved your life. That's the good news." Hank said, still appraising Tony's injury.

"And the bad?" Tony asked through clenched teeth.

"I believe your sternum and perhaps a few ribs are broken. I will need to do some tests to see if there is internal bleeding as well." the mutant finished as he injected Tony with a strong painkiller. "You may feel a little hazy. If you pass out that's ok, you probably don't want to be awake for some of the tests, even with painkillers."

Tony nodded sleepily.

Once he was out, Hank listened intently to Tony's breathing and heart. "Well, his heart sounds fine, and it is clear that nothing punctured a lung. Though I am concerned that the shrapnel may have been moved from the shock of the blow." He adjusted his glasses with a furry hand. "I certainly want to take some x-rays. Warren, come help me."

Warren strode over the moment he was called and helped Hank wheel Tony under the x-ray machine.

Once the x-rays were back, Hank sighed heavily. Pepper felt her chest constrict. So it was broken. "Warren, we're going to need an ultrasound and possibly a scalpel or two."

Pepper went white. Maybe Tony wasn't out of the woods yet.

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And the evil writer says!! ANOTHER CLIFF HANGER!! *evil laugh* Review? lol =D


	8. An Angel's Gift

Hello faithful readers!! Here is the next chapter, posted asap just like I promised Hamlets-pirate. This will actually be a double upload because my Muse is slowing down some, and I wanted to post the next because it is short. Enjoy, and thanks Hamlets-pirate for the note about the X-ray thing, for future reference we are pretending that the X-men have a super X-ray lol. I don't own, but enjoy my fantasy driven mind.

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"Warren, I need you to hold this while I prep Tony. We are going to have to go in and re-construct his sternum. While I'm scrubbing up could you please break the news to Miss Potts." Hank lowered his head, watching his hands intently as he scrubbed them, trying to distract himself. Tony was in bad shape. His sternum was all but shattered, and his blood counts indicated moderate blood loss. While Tony's heart was still beating normally, Hank was deeply worried that the impact could have driven the remaining shrapnel or bone fragments into vital organs. He had to do surgery. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Warren lingering by the door.

"Hank?" He said quietly, his wings hanging meekly at his sides.

"What? Why haven't you told Pepper yet?" He snapped, a slight growl entering his tone that he hadn't meant.

"We could try….."

Hank cut him off. "No. It hasn't been proven, we don't know the risks."

"How could there be any more risk than a normal blood transfusion? Hank, I saw his blood type, we're identical." Warren reasoned.

"No, Warren, you are not identical. You are a mutant. He is an unaltered human."

"A dying human." Warren said quietly, looking up. "He is, isn't he."

Hank sighed in defeat, his shoulders sagging as he leaned on the sink for support. "Yes." he whispered.

"It worked with the animals we tested, please Hank, I could be his only chance. You know surgery in this case is more than risky. Let me try first, please."

Hank turned his head, glancing at the shallowly breathing Iron Man. "All right." He whispered, barely audible.

Outside the sterile operating room, Pepper Potts cried her eyes out. She didn't care anymore. She leaned into Kurt's solid frame and cried. He held her tenderly, his eyes half closed as he muttered soothing prayers in Latin, fingering his rosary tenderly. Sniffing, Pepper glanced up at the German's face. He looked so serene, so calm. She saw the hope she had trouble holding on to glimmering softly in his eyes. She sighed shakily. There was no point denying fact, she was irreparably in love with Tony Stark, and she may never be able to tell him.

Pepper had no idea how long she had been waiting when Hank came out of the room, wringing his hands subconsciously. She panicked, clutching to Kurt as he came nearer.

"Well, we have decided not to go into surgery Miss Potts."

Pepper automatically relaxed noticeably when she didn't hear that Tony was gone. "Wha-" She swallowed, brushing tears away and steadying her voice. "What happened?"

Hank sat next to her, looking her in the eyes. "Warren is giving him a blood transfusion. Tony hasn't lost enough blood that it really is necessary, but we have done tests on Warren's blood before and it seems to have healing properties. We don't know the extent, but it has been tested on animals and one mutant, never a human. I must warn you that I have very little idea on what the outcome will be Pepper." He said quietly, holding her hand.

Pepper swallowed again, nodding silently. "I have to go back and oversee the transfusion now, I will return to tell you if anything changes."

Pepper nodded and buried herself back into Kurt's chest. For the first time that night, she prayed with him.

"How is he doing Hank?"

Warren was laying next to Tony on a bed, his arm punctured by a transfusion line at the elbow. Tony looked about the same from the angel's perspective, but he hoped he was wrong.

"Well, he is breathing easier, and the blood loss has stopped as far as I can tell. So that would be better."

"Then- it's working?"

"It would appear, but I still may need to do surgery to repair his sternum. I don't know if your blood is enough to fuse the bone. The second he moves a splinter could go straight into his heart or lungs."

Warren sighed. "Well don't cut me off until he is out of the woods or we are both in danger." His jaw was set, and Hank knew he meant it.

"I better go tell Pepper how his is doing, I'll be right back."

When Hank returned, Warren was getting close to the point where they would have to cut him off. The gentle mutant didn't want to risk Warren's life as well as maybe loosing Tony; he couldn't stand it. "Warren, we have to stop."

"How is he?" Angel whispered, sounding slightly weak.

"About the same, but I can't check the breaks without taking him to the x-ray, and you are getting dangerously close to the edge. I will not wait until you faint from blood loss Warren." He said sternly, looking over his glasses.

Warren shook his head feebly, but Hank pulled the machine anyway, wrapping Angel's arm tightly. Once realizing that he was much weaker than he had wanted to believe, Warren let Hank detach him and slipped into unconsciousness.

Checking to make sure Warren was stable, Hank bit his lip, praying that the sacrifice had worked. The wheeled Tony into the X-ray room, bracing himself for the worst.

"Miss Potts?" Nightcrawler whispered gently. Pepper had fallen asleep in his lap, her tear-streaked face against his chest and her hand knotted in his jacket. "Pepper?" He nudged her carefully, holding onto her forearms as she slowly woke up.

"Huh? Tony?" She mumbled. Suddenly she sat bolt up, panicking. "TONY!"

"Shhh," the gentle demon soothed. "Tony is all right. That is why I woke you up. Hank has some good news!"

Pepper whipped towards Hank, who was smiling broadly. "Warren's blood worked! Tony's sternum is healing rapidly, and the internal bleeding stopped completely. I think it may have even helped with some of the damage Tony's heart sustained while in captivity. He will still be awhile while his chest heals, but he doesn't need surgery and he can move around as soon as he wakes up!"

Pepper launched out of Nightcrawler's lap and kissed Hank right on his furry lips.


	9. Awww

Told you this one was short, but I hope you like!! Major happenings in this, and for you action buffs, it's coming!!

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"Wow, this sucks. I wasn't this bad when Stane stepped his big ugly foot on me." Tony grumbled, just starting to really feel his chest burn when the painkillers began to wear off.

"He stepped on you?"

"Yea, why?"

Pepper shrugged. "I guess I don't really need another reason to hate him, I was just wondering."

Tony frowned, looking at his former assistant. Former being the result of Pepper's explosive reaction when he woke up. She had launched herself towards him, hugging him so tight he had an even harder time breathing, and then she sealed off his airway completely in a very upset kiss. He had waited, frozen until she was done, before grinning widely.

"And you said you would never fall for me." He had laughed.

"Shut up Tony, no one falls for you, you drag them down." She said, in a tearful laugh.

"Hey, sorry babe, I can't help it if I'm sexy." Tony grinned. "Even with my latest add-ons."

"You can be sexy with out flaunting it you know." She reminded him.

"I don't flaunt." He stated, pretending to be offended.

"It's not about that anyway. Tony, I love your cocky, terrible, little boy ruffled irresponsible attitude."

"I'm not sexy?" He asked, sounding completely heartbroken.

Pepper laughed and buried herself in his arms. "Pepper Potts." He whispered into her hair. Not caring if anyone heard him. "Will you marry me?"

They were now walking on the grounds, two days after the entire ordeal with Hydra. "So Logan hasn't got back yet huh?" Pepper asked.

Tony shook his head. "Nope, we haven't even heard from him yet." He sighed. "I know he can take care of himself, but I can't help but want to be out there with him."

Tony had gotten very serious, his hand clenching into a fist as he continued to walk beside her. His expression and tone were exactly the same as when he had first convinced her that he really was meant to be Iron Man.

"Tony, Hank said at the rate your healing you only have to wait another day, then you can go after him."

"I know, but do have any idea what can happen in a day?" He asked, looking her in the eyes. She could see that he was worried.

"Tony. Logan is quite capable of handling himself, the Professor and Fury have all ready sent backup to follow him, and Xavier can find him as soon as he leaves wherever is blocking his brainwaves. Besides, you would only be in the way wounded."

Tony nodded, knowing she was probably right. But the second that he was released, he was suiting up and not looking back until Hydra was nothing but ashes.


	10. Iron man, meet the Avengers

Hey guys!! Here is my next chapter, and I hope you enjoy cuz my muse is being stupid. She is easily distracted by shiny plot bunnies, and caught another one earlier today. *sigh* I will try and make the Iron Man bunny interesting to her again, but updates may go slower for now, sorry. =(

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"All right Tony, we have finally found Logan, and now know where Hydra is. You have Jean, Scott, Bobby, Rogue, Gambit, and Kurt with you as backup, and Fury will meet you at the rendezvous with some of his people. Good luck." Tony nodded, turning off the video link over which he was talking to Xavier. He stood, his metal steps clunking loudly on the floor of the X-jet as he headed for the cockpit where his "back up" were.

"So, how far and where to?" He asked, leaning on the back of Jean's chair. He was fully suited up other than his helmet. There was just no easy way to get the armor on in the jet.

"Well, Logan's signal is coming from a very remote island near Japan of all places. Hydra must want you very badly to come all this way Tony."

"Huh, I'm honored."

"As for your question of how long, it should be an hour yet."

Tony sighed heavily.

"Hmm, Pepper wasn't kidding when she said your like a little boy sometimes." Jean teased.

Tony grinned, plopping into the seat right behind her. "Are we there yet?"

"You want to go any faster your going to have to jump." Scott said, laughing.

"Ok." Tony said as he got up and headed for the back of the plane.

10 seconds later…….

"Jean, what was that?"

Jean leaned over, looking out the window where her husband was pointing with his thumb. A flash of red and gold swooped back to fly right along the plane. She sighed. "Just Tony."

"Wow, he actually did it?"

"Jarvis, connect to X jet communications."

"Will do sir. Connection successfully established."

"Cool. Hey guys!"

"Hey Tony. Enjoying yourself?"

"Yup. Thanks for asking. Check this out!" Tony flipped onto his back, putting his hands above his head like he was swimming. He 'paddled' to the other side of the plane and rested his hands behind his head, flying along with his boots and two small stabling jets on his back.

Rogue laughed. "Show off."

Tony shrugged. "If the suit fits."

1 hour later…

"Hey, there's Logan." Tony said, pointing. "I'm heading down, see you on the landing field." With that he dove, plummeting for several hundred feet before catching himself and landing in an explosive entrance.

"Well hello Iron Man." Tony looked to where the voice came from. It was Nick Fury.

"Nice to see you too Fury."

"I see your all ready for action. Perhaps after you trial run with the Avengers you will consider joining us."

"Depends. Lets stay in the present and hope we all get out alive first."

Before Fury could continue the conversation the X-jet landed, a gush of wind blowing the trees back around the landing site. Tony's sensors informed him that it was 74 degrees, a nice temperature for the time of year. It was usually much more hot and humid.

"Welcome Scott, X-men. Everyone is waiting in the tent at headquarters. I want to get there before we discuss anything further."

Once everyone was crowded into the once spacious tent, Tony looked around at the company. Logan, Scott, Rogue, Bobby, Gambit, Jean, Kurt, Peter, and Ororo were to his left, while Fury and four people that Tony didn't recognize stood or sat to his right.

"Well Avengers, I don't think I need to brief you all on why we are here, but I do need to introduce and give details. For those who don't know, this is Tony Stark, his code will be Iron Man. Tony, this is Bruce Banner, codename; Hulk. Also on my team are Electra Nachios, Steve Rogers, or Captain America, and Matt Murdoc, aka Daredevil. Spiderman will be joining us shortly."

As if Fury had summoned him, Peter swung into the tent, letting go of the web and gracefully landing in line next to Steve.

"Nice of you to join us. Just in time to hear details too Spider, I didn't want to repeat myself." Nick said before continuing.

"Hydra is known to have its base here, on this island. Wolverine found the entrance and was able to report back yesterday. They were un aware of his intrusion so we have an advantage. The base is in the south part of the island, pretty much the entire southern half as far as we know, and most of it is underground. This island is nothing but forest until you hit the beaches, so traveling won't be easy. Hydra has spies stationed all over this place, and we can't even be sure that we are safe here. We are in enemy territory people. During your mission you will infiltrate the Hydra base, take out their main weapons and all communications, take the leader hostage, and report back here. Air and water help is nearly impossible out here, so you'll be on your own until we can get troops in later. There will be two teams, and everyone will have a radio link to each on their team. Scott, you will have your X-men. Cap, you will have everyone else, including you Stark. You will only be able to contact others on your team unless you change radio frequencies. During the mission you will _**only**_ use code names. Is everyone clear?"

There was a prompt 'yes sir' around the circle and Fury smiled. "Good. You have ten minutes to prep."

Tony followed Captain America out of the tent, and into another where five suits were waiting. Each member of the team changed out of their civilian clothes and into various costumes, most of them leather. Tony wasn't really surprised when the Cap's looked like a flag. The ear bud communicators were passed out and the teams met again outside. Tony noticed the X-men all wore black leather costumes, each a little different to accommodate that mutant's powers and personality. If this wasn't so serious Tony would have laughed. This whole thing was not supposed to be in the real world, yet here they all were, adults wearing costumes like some comic book.

Fury broke his thoughts. "Unfortunately, due to forest density and our going for the element of surprise, you are all going to have to hike from here to the base. Good luck team. Base will be known as Eagle nest. I'll be known as Blind Eagle. Move out!" Fury saluted and turned on his heel, heading for the single helicarrier that was stationed near where the X-jet was landed. Apparently that's where his tech was stationed.

"So…" Tony was getting bored and didn't feel like being quiet the entire hike. Besides, he was curious about his new team mates. "What can everyone do? I'll start. I can fly and have multiple weapons and scanning and communication systems. You next Devil."

Daredevil laughed. "Curious are we? All my senses are amplified, and because I'm blind I have a radar sense instead. Your turn Cap."

"I'm pretty much amplified everywhere. Strength, stamina, senses. Not as sharp as Daredevil though. Your turn Electra."

"I know many forms of martial arts, and especially have skill with a pair of sai. Your turn Spidy."

"I can shoot web, stick to walls, and my senses of touch and sight are amplified. I'm also pretty strong and agile. Spidy sense helps me know if there is something dangerous around too. You now Hulk."

"I turn into, well, a big green hulk. You'll see what I mean later."

"Wow, quite the variety. I never would have guessed that all this could really happen until a year ago."

"I know what you mean." Spiderman said.

It took both teams quite a long time to reach the base, but by the time they got there they had the cover of night to help. Tony glanced down at his chest piece. Darn. "Hey, Spidy, come here."

Once Tony's chest piece was covered, they moved forward, Tony trying to keep his head down. There wasn't much he could do about the glowing eye slits. He was getting so many more reasons to stay in the basement with his suit……

"Ok team." Cap whispered, ducked down in the foliage himself. "We're taking the right and Cyclops' team the left once we get inside. Iron Man, I want you on sensor detail. If there is any movement let us know I also want to know where the weapons are, if you can scan in there. Hulk, I want you to follow behind me and just be ready. Electra and Daredevil will go stealth and spy the place out. Spiderman, you are on major spy detail, I want you to find the leader, or try and find info on where he or she is. I think Nightcrawler is doing the same for the X-men, so if you run into him just work together. Any questions? We want to stay quiet for as long as possible, so don't fight unless you have absolutely no choice. Good luck."


	11. Hide and Seek

Hello people!! My muse has decided to play with the Iron Man bunny for a while lately, and I figured I'd grab her while her whim remained. Not sure how long she will stay interested in this particular plot bunny, but rest assured that I fully intend to finish this fic eventually. Thank the lovely plot bunny for having such pretty colors, without which my muse could have taken even longer to come back. Enjoy, and I will continue to hope my muse obeys me!! (Too bad my mind is such a favorite gathering place for so many shiny plot bunnies all at once *sigh*)

* * *

The second they were in the building, three guards and a security camera were already trashed. The guards hadn't had time to alert the others, but the camera might be another problem. Tony tried attaching a device that would scramble the signal for max thirty minutes, basically backtracking the time so it looked like nothing had happened, but he doubted that it would work very well. Hydra couldn't be that stupid. As soon as everyone split up, Electra and Daredevil disappeared into the shadows, going the opposite direction as Nightcrawler. Spidy webbed himself up to the ceiling and worked his flexible body into a duct at the top of the passage wall.

Tony took a deep breath, following the Cap down the passage and into a room where he could concentrate with out being disturbed. He focused all his sensors, expanding the search, watching the read outs carefully in order to make sure he didn't miss any details.

Captain America waited patiently for a good ten minutes before speaking up. "Anything?"

Tony shook his head. "Everything is so well guarded, and my sensors are already dampened by the cloaking signals that I'm sending along with them. There is no way for me to scan anything like this. The only thing I keep getting is this huge energy reading from deep underground, probably at the heart of the base. I'm going to guess that that's the power core. If we can get down there and let me tap in I could practically take hold of the entire base's computers."

Banner's eyebrows went up. "You could control a base of this size? That's pretty impressive."

"Well thanks but we have to get down there first big guy."

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"Nice 'port Crawler." Wolverine complimented his partner upon finishing a difficult teleport to the next 'safe spot' near where the leader was supposed to be. Logan was following a rather iffy scent that he had been given. The only promising thing about the smell was that it smelled like something organic and not zombie like. The horrid smell that the ninjas gave off was the absolute only way for Logan to keep them under his radar, and that alone ticked him off.

"Thank you, we should probably walk from here for a while though, these tunnels are getting very complex!" The German sighed, catching his breath. He and Wolverine were camped out in a slightly larger air duct than Spiderman had disappeared into earlier. It was far from comfortable or good for catching one's breath.

"Wolverine, I-" Nightcrawler began, but Logan held up a warning hand, the claws suddenly appearing there for emphasis. Logan was peering over the side of the duct, into the tunnel hallway below. Four guards were making their rounds, heavily armed. They must be getting closer to the inner core of the base.

Logan thought for a moment. The security camera above them was very inconvenient. 'This would be so much easier if they didn't light the place like a hospital.' Logan thought. If only they could reach the main power core and knock it out…..

Holding up his hand and conveying a series of signals to Kurt, Logan leapt down from his perch, launching himself out with his hands and diving head first to impale the two guards right below him, flipping gracefully to his feet as his claws slid out of their skulls. Nightcrawler had taken out the security camera a split second before Logan made his move and then proceeded to take out the other guards.

Leaving the bodies, Wolverine gestured with a hand down the passage. "Shall we?"

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"Darn it, were getting our fancy butts kicked!"

Captain America's red white and blue shield whizzed past Tony where he was pinned up against the wall, decapitating several guards that had had him pinned.

"Thanks, should have known that we'd run into more trouble once we neared the core." Iron Man shouted as he blasted several more off of Bruce's back.

"How close are we?" Cap asked, slugging a nearby guard with his fist.

"I'd tell you pretty close, but something is completely scrambling my signal. I'm going to guess that the power core is a really different source, because I'm almost 100% certain that that's what is screwing with my sensors."

"So now we're going on how fuzzy your sensors get?"

Tony nodded. "Unless you have a better idea?"

"I think we're getting near the end of this wave of guards, we can move towards it then." Cap said, finishing off his share with a quick head-bash.

The last of the guards were quickly killed, and the team moved on. It didn't take long however before they turned a corner and……

"I think we are now officially outnumbered beyond what we can handle." Tony muttered, scanning the welcome party.

"I think it's time to let Hulk do his thing." Bruce grinned. Cap moved cautiously away from his close position near Banner.

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"I believe we are getting very close."

Wolverine gave his partner a death glare. "Really? Ya think?" His growled words were almost drowned out by the sound of several skulls cracking at once. Logan and Kurt both were overrun by guards, to put it lightly. Nightcrawler was unable to do much teleporting in such a crowded area for fear of ending up inside of someone, and Wolverine barely had enough room to swing his claws with enough force to do damage.

Wolverine let a feral roar rip from him as he launched through the mass, but no matter what he did they just kept coming. He was bleeding faster than he could heal, and for the first time in a long time he was getting faint from blood loss. Nightcrawler had been moving slower and slower too, and Logan realized with a jerk that he was out of sight. How long had crawler been down? Logan swooned, his vision blurring as a sword stuck through his back, nailing him nearly through the heart. He could hear the blood pounding soundly in his ears, but it was soon silenced to his mind as he blacked out.

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"So that's what he meant by a big green Hulk." Tony shouted from his protected position against a wall and out of Banner's way.

"Yea, just sit tight another minute, he'll be calm soon." Cap shouted back, watching Hulk warily.

Hulk was panting heavily after bashing the last of the guards to a nasty black pulp. Tony shifted just a millimeter towards him, and his armor made a nasty scraping noise along the concrete. Hulk whipped towards him, his face still twisted into a killing rage. Tony took an apprehensive step back, watching the angry giant.

"Uh, Cap." He whispered into his intercom. "He wouldn't attack his team, would he?"

"He might, he has little control when he's like this, move away slowly, but be ready to duck." Captain America warned.

Tony sucked in a breath, stepping back another few feet. Unfortunately his armored shoulder caught the concrete again and made another horrid grating sound. Iron Man looked up just in time to leap out of the way of Hulk's giant fists. There was an inhuman roar as Hulk pulverized the wall, and Tony reflexively covered his face and curled away from flying bits of rubble.

After a moment, Tony looked up. The dust was clearing and he stood carefully, watching for the angry 1200 pounds of muscle to come charging back. He didn't. The last of the dust settled and a sheepish looking Bruce was standing in the middle of it.

"Aw man, sorry guys." He said, scanning the rubble at his feet.

Tony wasn't looking at the apologetic Banner however, he was staring behind him. "Hulk, I think you just saved the day."

* * *

Yea!! Cliff hanger, I love torturing you guys XD I am soooo bad. But honestly, what writer doesn't like messing with her crowd of followers? Reviews will make me happy!! Don't worry, I have ideas for the next part all ready. ;D


	12. Last Ditch Effort

Hello! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and thank God and my Muse that I once again have inspiration =D Hope you enjoy, and I will also hope that then next upload won't take long =)

* * *

Logan came to slowly, his breathing sharply constricted. Whoever had captured him and Nightcrawler weren't stupid. He opened his eyes, finding himself tied against a post. His feet weren't on the ground. Logan strained, pulling against the wire holding him. His hands were securely tied behind his back, so it would take some maneuvering to get his claws free. His sharp eyes scanned the area, taking in a small cell. It was a strange one though. Below him, where the floor should be, was a steaming vat, filled with a bubbling liquid that singed his nose with a nasty chemical scent. Outside the cell door Logan could hear guns shifting as the guard changed. He sniffed, wincing as the vat burned him. Nightcrawler was behind him. He listened carefully. The acrobatic mutant was still out cold by the sound of his breathing. Great. Logan didn't dare cut himself free until Kurt was awake. The vat's contents smelled suspiciously like acid.

"Well, might as well get my hands free while I'm stuck here." Logan muttered, realizing that he couldn't even contact his team; they had taken his headset.

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"Hulk, you found it. You smashed in the wall to the power core!" Tony exclaimed, looking in wonder at the giant pillar of swirling light in front of him. It looked somewhat like the arc, but it was blood red.

Several guards that had stayed to watch the power core jumped to attention, guns cocking ominously.

"Wonderful."

"Did you really expect it to be unguarded? It's not like they have to work very hard to recruit." Bruce pointed out.

"Oh yea, instant soldier, just kill." Tony quipped.

"I'm going to see if Daredevil or Electra are nearby, If they are I'm going to have them help us. Spidy can find the leader. Cover me while I contact them." Cap added as the guard began swarming them.

Tony stepped in front of the Cap while he backed into a covered position near a corner. The second he moved, so did his enemies. An exact third of the guard surged forward like one body, attacking him on all sides. At first Tony held his own, but slowly he realized that the ninjas were herding him away from the others.

'Great.' he thought. 'divide and conquer. Too bad the zombie recipe didn't fry their brains as well. Why are they always mindless in video games? They're always easy that way…'

His repulsors came in handy, and he was infinitely thankful for his armor. Their swords couldn't possibly have enough force to penetrate his armor, and guns already proved useless… right?

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

Logan was almost free, one more cut and….got it!

Wolverine shrugged his shoulders, working his hands out in front of him to help get the circulation back. He would need it if the skin on his arms was going to grow back anytime soon. He grimaced, looking at his raw and nearly stripped arms. The wire had not been kind to him. Well, the worst was over. Or at least he hoped, looking down at the acid. He was now suspended with his arms free, so all he had to do was cut the wire, or wait for Kurt to wake up and teleport them onto the ledge on the edge of the cell.

"What, ooh my head." He heard Kurt moan from the other side of the post.

"Good crawler, your awake. I need your help if we're getting out of here. I'm on the other side of the post here. Can you teleport us out?" Logan called to his partner.

"I'll try, but I think something's wrong Wolverine. I feel rather strange." Kurt concentrated, trying to open the portal that was his teleporting ability. He couldn't.

"Wolverine, something is wrong, I can't teleport."

"Great. Ok, If I cut the wire can you hang onto the pillar long enough to get on my back?"

"I think so." Kurt replied, wrapping his tail securely around the post. He didn't like the look of the liquid either.

"All right, on three… One, two, three." Logan grunted, slicing though the wire in a quick swipe. He flipped as he began to fall, digging his claws deep into the wood before he got far. Kurt was clinging soundly to the post by his tail, hanging upside-down. In a fluid movement he swung himself onto Logan's back, wrapping his tail around Logan's waist for support.

"Ok Crawler, I'm gonna have to jump, hold on." Logan warned, tensing.

Kurt settled in tighter and readied himself as Wolverine leapt to the wall of the cell, digging his claws into the concrete with a roar of pain.

"Wha-" He panted, realizing suddenly that his forearms were throbbing horribly.

"Wolverine, your arms!" Nightcrawler said in alarm.

Logan looked down to find that his healing factor still hadn't taken care of his wounds. That wasn't good.

He gritted his teeth and made another leap further along the wall towards the ledge, digging his claws painfully into the surface. One more leap and they would be out……….

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"Hey Cap, any word yet?" Tony shouted into his intercom. He was so deep in the mess of ninjas that he couldn't even see Captain America anymore. The only member of his team that was visible was the Hulk.

"Yea, hang on, they should be here any sec, wait, look up." He called back, a series of punches and grunts coming through along with the dialogue.

Tony obeyed, firing his last missile in a vain attempt to give himself some elbow room. Daredevil and Electra leapt down from a suspended cat walk above him, a loud war cry from Electra actually managing to distract the Hydra soldiers for a moment. They landed near Tony, sticking painfully close to him in order to avoid being separated.

"I appreciate it guys, but don't you think Cap could use some help?" Tony asked, repulor raying several ninjas in succession.

"He can hold his own, besides, he told us to get you over to the panel so you can take control of the base. That's more important, don't you think?" Electra informed him.

Tony had to admit that if any plan would save them, it would be this one.

Electra slid around him like a shadow, slicing a bloody path through the chaos, defending Tony as she went. Daredevil covered his back, and Tony blasted the sides. With the team effort Tony found himself steadily making his way towards the control panel.

"Jarvis, prep for system invasion, override, and replacement."

"Will do sir. I would be careful of suit integrity at this instant however. It has sustained massive damage." The AI warned.

"Give me stats." Tony groaned, straining against the wall of warriors in front of him.

"Right leg armor reduced to 59%. Left leg armor 40%. Right arm 23%. Left arm 34%. Main body armor sustained massive damage reducing armor to 16% on the front and 20% on the back."

Tony cursed under his breath. "How's the chest piece holding?"

"99% power and holding sir. Nothing out of the normal with this degree of electrical output."

"Good. What about the armor around the chest piece?"

"3% sir. I believe the fact that it glows has given them a good target idea."

"Thank you Jarvis." Tony ground out, hitting the next opponent with the force he wished he could use on the AI at the moment. He was not in the mood for smart alec remarks from a computer.

"No problem sir. Look to your left." He added helpfully as a particularly large ninja barreled towards him. Tony quickly took him out.

They were almost to the panel, but everyone was tiring. Tony knew that if he made it out of here he would sleep for a week.

A big problem facing them however, was that their opponents weren't tiring. And their numbers didn't seem to diminish either. It was going to be a long night.

Just when Tony was mere inches from the console there was a sharp cry from behind and Daredevil went down. Tony almost whipped around to help him but Electra caught his arm, throwing him through the last of the enemies and to the panel.

"Go! NOW!" She commanded.

"But what about……" Tony protested.

"I'll go after him! Don't make him go down in vain!" She shouted, defending Tony with her sai as he tried to tap into the mainframe. He would only need a few minutes to finish the take over…….

Just when he was 10 seconds away from finishing the override Electra gave a sharp cry and fell. Tony clenched his teeth, willing his hardware to work faster. There was no way he could defend himself like this, he needed both hands plugged into the panel…….

9 seconds and the ninjas were on him.

8 seconds and they had almost gotten through his armor.

7 seconds and a sword tip scratched through the bodysuit under his armor.

6 seconds and the swords could make tiny cuts into his skin.

5 seconds and a dagger went through his hand.

4 seconds and a sword entered his right shoulder.

3 seconds and another weapon had nearly breached his chest armor.

2 seconds and it dug into the skin of his back.

1 second and the sword was drawing droplets of ruby blood…………

0


	13. Out of the Frying Pan and

Hello! Due to being stuck at my dad's without internet for several days my muse has decided to cooperate with me!! *claps for muse* Anyway, I really hope everyone likes the direction this is heading, and I am going to say be prepared for angst and perhaps a sequel! I will now let you read, happy reviewing!!!

* * *

"What could be causing this Wolverine? It takes a lot of power to dampen mutations!" Nightcrawler exclaimed, steadying Logan as he swayed on the edge of the acid pit; they had barely made the jump.

Logan sat down heavily, his vision swimming. He must have lost a lot of blood. He gazed down through a fog at his bloody arms. The flesh was creeping slowly back to its place along the edges of the wound, but it was many times slower than usual. Sighing, Wolverine tipped his head back to rest against the corner of the wall, if only he could get this fog off of his mind, he could bust out of here and……

In tipping his head back, a flash of metal caught Logan's eye. He picked his head back up, squinting at Kurt's waist. There was a ring of silver around it.

"The heck is that?" He slurred. He shook his head with annoyance. What had they done to him?

"What is what?" Kurt asked, following Logan's shaking finger to his middle. There was a barely noticeable ring of silver around it. A small circle light flashed in the center of it.

"This is what kept me from teleporting?" Kurt asked, bewildered. "Wolverine, do you think we can cut me free?"

Logan pushed himself to his feet, feeling only slightly better. He snicked out a claw and slid it behind the metal, attempting to cut it. It did no good.

"Adamantium. Crap." Logan cursed. Whoever had them probably knew more about him than he did. Why did it seem that way with everyone? It was starting to seriously tick him off.

"What about you? What do you think is keeping you down? I don't see any ring or device on you." Kurt said, looking his partner up and down.

"Dunno. Might be some sort of injection, carbonadium could be a possible factor."

"What is carbonadium?"

"A type of metal that really slows down my healing factor."

"How slow, and how long will it last?"

"Well elf, you can see how slow, and as for how long, last time I had it in me I was dead for most of it." Logan replied, peering out of the window of their cell.

Kurt thought about what Logan had said. "You mean 'dead' as in figurative, right?" He asked uncertainly.

Logan didn't answer.

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

*fzzzst* ----- **display online------**

*zzzz* ------**user unresponsive-------**

*fzzhst* Sir? Oh dear. Initializing outer speakers.

"Tony? Tony, you all right?"

"No use Electra, he's out cold and his suit sounds dead- oh!" Daredevil stepped back from his kneeling position right next to Iron Man's unresponsive form just as the eyes flickered back to a bright blue and Jarvis' voice came from the helmet.

"Sir, madam, I would ask that you do not move Mr. Stark until I can further scan him."

"Is he alive?" Electra asked, worriedly bending over him.

"Yes, and his vital signs are stable, but I need to asses his condition. He may have internal bleeding, and I am detecting damage to the bones that just healed. One moment please."

Electra, Daredevil, and Cap waited while Jarvis scanned Tony, praying that he would be ok. Bruce stumbled over to them, newly transformed and exhausted as he finally calmed down.

"Mr. Stark has minor cuts and bruises, and a deep wound on his right shoulder. It did not sever the artery, but it will need to be bound. Wait one moment and I will administer smelling salts."

There was choking and gasping from inside the helmet and Tony sat up gingerly, taking his helmet off as he did so. He was sweating bullets, and his shoulder hurt like the devil, but he was alive, and that was better than he had hoped. Panting, he fell back against the side of the control panel, exhausted and aching. Piles and piles of dead guards and soldiers lay everywhere, all ready stinking. Apparently if you were all ready dead, you decayed much faster.

"Wow, good job guys." Tony panted. Surveying his team, he noticed that everyone looked pretty beat up. Cap was bleeding from multiple cuts and was favoring his right leg. Electra and Daredevil looked badly beat as well, and Bruce was bruised and exhausted. How were they ever going to find the others and fight their way out? If he could contact the others by switching radio frequency in his helmet, and take full control of the base, it wouldn't be too hard, right? Right.

"We killed everyone who came at us, but then there was some sort of high pitched call and they all disappeared. I tried to follow, but I think my leg is broken." Cap told him, shifting his weight against the wall.

"Spidy, Wolverine or Nightcrawler must have found the leader and they were called in for back up." Daredevil guessed.

"That was my first guess, but why would everyone go and leave the center unprotected?" Cap pointed out.

"Yea." Tony agreed. "If we have control of the base it would be so much easier to find and kill the leader, heck, we could shut them all down!" He peered up at the panel. Something wasn't right. He stood shakily, leaning heavily on the surface of the controls. The screen spelled bad news for everyone.

Tony hung his head and groaned. Could they get no breaks?

"I know why they cleared out guys." He muttered, not moving his head.

"Self destruct sequence." He read. "30 minutes and counting."

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"Logan, are you sure you will be all right?" Kurt asked, deeply worried.

Logan shushed him harshly. "Code names only, remember." He hissed through clenched teeth, leaning against the wall.

They had successfully broken out of the cell and killed the guards, but Logan had been forced to use his claws and now he was rapidly loosing blood from the slits in between his knuckles. And man did it hurt. He had also suffered a few bullet grazes and sword cuts, but those were extremely minor. Natural instinct, of course, always guided him to avoid bullets. But now he had a real reason to that he wasn't used to having.

"Forget the code names. Logan, they captured us and you are bleeding to death. We have no idea how long you have, how long the metal will continue to affect you, or even where the others are! The last thing I'm going to worry about is code names." Kurt shot back, using some of the bandages he always had hid in his costume on Logan's raw hands.

"That is all I can do, we just need to pray that you don't bleed out." He said solemnly.

Logan swayed, becoming physically unable to keep his feet. Kurt caught him, lowering him gently to the ground.

"Mein got Logan, this is very bad." Kurt said, looking at his friend with concern. "How I wish I could just teleport you out of here." He said angrily, glaring at the circlet around his waist.

Logan's head lolled to one side and Kurt caught him with a clawed hand, steadying him. Wolverine was panting raggedly, and gentle fingers against Logan's jugular revealed his pulse to be fast and weak. Kurt bit his lip. He couldn't loose Logan, he just couldn't. Wrapping an extra layer of bandages around Logan's wounds, Kurt prayed fervently that God would spare his life. By the time Kurt finished bandaging his friend, Logan was completely out. Determined, Kurt heaved Wolverine's dead weight over his shoulders and moved out, heading in whatever direction looked safest. He had to find the others.


	14. The Line of Fire

"Good news, no guards to block our path, bad news, no idea how to get out." Tony said as they ran down yet another strange corridor, trying desperately to get out. All communication had been jammed and there wasn't a single way to tap into the base's computers anymore; everything had locked up with the destruct sequence.

"They must have all swarmed to get the leader and then left." Electra said, running along side him.

"What about contacting Scott's team?" Cap hissed from his spot in Hulk's arms. Banner had been able to change and keep himself under control in order to carry their fallen leader.

"I've been trying, but the frequency is hard to lock, wait-"

"Hello? Who is this? Wolverine?" Scott's voice came into Tony's helmet.

"Cyclops? Thank goodness, I've been trying to get you. We have to find everyone and get back to the camp, they've activated a self destruct sequence and we'll all be fried in less than 30 minutes."

Cyclops cursed. "I can't contact Wolverine or Nightcrawler. They checked in an hour ago, and I haven't been able to get them since. How's Spidy doing?"

"Hang on, I'll check." Tony replied, berating himself for forgetting the rest of _his_ team.

"Hey, Spidy, how's it going?"

"Not good. I was on his trail for a while, but then when I got to his chamber everything was deserted. It's really weird."

"Unfortunately, it's not really weird. Everyone is clearing out. They activated self destruct."

Tony heard a heavy sigh through the speaker. "Wonderful. How much time do we have."

"By now? I'd say 15 minutes, maybe 20. We're on the move now but Cap has a broken leg and everyone else is pretty beat up. Hey, have you seen Nightcrawler and Wolverine? Scott can't get a hold of them." Tony said.

"No, I haven't. I'll look though. You guys get out. I'll meet you out. I can't leave them here and you need to get the Captain back to camp. I'm still in good shape. I'll call if I find them. Spidy out." The link went dead and Tony bit his lip. This was getting cut way too close. He didn't like it at all.

Switching his helmet frequencies again, he re-contacted Scott. "Hey, Spidy is looking for Wolverine and Nightcrawler. Do you know the way out?"

"Fortunately, I do. Jean was able to find a mind with the map of the place and she has been guiding us through. Where are you now?"

"The North passage away from the power core."

"Keep on your path, just go straight. We'll meet up soon. I'll let the Blind Eagle know what is going on."

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

Nightcrawler was making decent headway without interference. It was making him uneasy. So was Logan's barely audible breathing. He stumbled down another deserted passage before deciding that he would have to stop if he was going to make it out. Especially if a squad of soldiers suddenly decided to show up.

Laying Logan on his back, Kurt slumped down, resting his aching body against the wall. They had only been sitting for a moment however when a sound alerted Kurt of an intruder. He snapped his head up, watching for danger.

"Oh thank God. You guys….ok?" Spiderman asked, coming out of the duct he had been using for travel. He slowed down as he saw Wolverine's sorry state.

"I don't think we are ok, no." Kurt said, glancing down at Logan. The bandages looked like they had been dyed red in the first place.

"I'd ask if you can walk and all that, but we don't have time. The place is set to blow in 12 minutes or less. We have to get out of here. I all ready told Iron Man that I found you. Now we have to book it." Spidy informed him, jumping off the wall and heaving Logan over his shoulders.

"I'm going to guess that you can't teleport?" He assumed, hoping he was wrong.

"Correct." Nightcrawler sighed. "Which way?"

HYDRAHYDRAHYDRAHYDRA

"Guys, thank God. Tony, how much time do we have?" Rouge asked, running towards Tony's battered team. Scott's group looked a little worse for wear as well.

"About five minutes, how close are we?"

"Scott said only a few turns from the entrance, but we need to be as far away as we can be before the explosion hits." Bobby said, sticking close to Rogue. "Have you seen Spidy and the rest yet? We've been watching for them."

"No, I'd hoped we would see them by now…." Tony said regrettably.

"What we waiting for, Christmas?" Spiderman panted, running up with Nightcrawler following close behind.

"Pete! You made it!" Tony exclaimed.

"Yea, now let's make it the rest of the way. Honestly I don't know how much longer Logan will last without help."

Tony gasped. After learning of Logan's powers, he never would have imagined him wounded like this.

"Give him to me Peter. My suit can handle more weight and we can move faster." Tony said, lifting Wolverine in his arms.

With three minutes to go the entire group ran up the tunnels and out. And they didn't look back. The path was difficult to traverse because of all the foliage, but they were running for their lives and it carried them fast through the forest.

But not fast enough.

A huge boom racked the island and a fire ball shot into the sky. Ground began caving in and a shock blast of fire and heat swept over them like a deadly wave. Tony hit the ground before the blast could knock him over, shielding Logan with his body and curling up as best he could. The heat was excruciating, flaming through the breaches in his armor like cattle brands. Once the wave passed, bits of concrete and metal began dropping around them and licks of fire ate along plants like a swarm of ravenous insects.

Tony lifted his head, picking Logan up again and walking towards the others. Everyone seemed relatively ok. He imagined that they would all be suffering from burns later though.

"Everybody ok?" Scott called.

"Think so, we had better keep moving." Jean said, scanning the company.

"Scott." She said suddenly, gripping his arm. "We need to hurry. Logan isn't breathing."

30 minutes later

They made it back to camp by the time Logan was dead. When he had stopped breathing CPR was attempted, but it did nothing. They moved as fast as they could through the jungle, but by the time they reached camp the Wolverine's heart had stopped.

"He's flat lined, we need to get him to the med room." Tony shouted, sprinting the last few feet.

Logan was rushed into the med room, but due to his adamantium, paddles were useless. Their only prayer was an adrenaline shot to the heart.

"Lay him down and get out of the way." Fury commanded, all ready holding a syringe.

Tony obeyed, stepping back until his back was against the wall of the helicarrier.

Fury unzipped Logan's bloodied uniform, forcibly jamming the needle past his sternum and into his heart.

Injecting the contents with a prayer, the Colonel stepped back, hoping for a miracle.

20 minutes later

The Avengers stood assembled out side of the helicarrier, waiting for news on Logan. Cap hadn't even dared to go in for his leg yet for fear of what he'd see. He hated the thought of the last soldier he had fought along side dieing before him. Logan was the only one out of his group that hadn't aged since world war two. It was the worst part of the super soldier serum; watching all your friends die around you.

"Well Avengers, we have some bad news." Fury said from the entrance to the helicarrier. Everyone suddenly snapped to attention, hoping the bad news wasn't as bad as they feared.

"We've lost one of our finest soldiers."

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Too much drama? Not enough? Hate where it is going? Love it? Please review!


	15. Greiving

"We've lost one of our finest soldiers."

The words hit like an impossible blow.

Everyone had been mentally preparing themselves, but to actually hear something they never truly believed would happen nearly sent the Avengers to their knees.

Kurt bowed his head, tears silently running along the groves and markings on his face. So the Lord had taken him home.

Cap and the rest of the team mimicked Kurt, bowing their heads. Jean closed her eyes, burying herself in Scott's shoulder.

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do? Jump start his healing factor or something?" Gambit asked, not willing to accept that he was gone.

"No Remy. I'm sorry but we've tried everything I could think of." Fury answered heavily, wishing the same thing.

"Well," Storm sniffed from her place next to Nightcrawler. "May we see him?"

Fury shook his head. " I all ready have him set for transport. Let's get you guys home. We'll leave right after I see to Steve's leg."

The trip back to the mansion was very quiet. Nobody said anything. Tony spent the trip staring out the window, anger boiling away inside him.

They had lost Logan and Hydra had escaped. He was starting to think that the good guys could never win. Hydra could continue it's dirty work for another hundred years before they were found again and Logan's life had been lost for nothing. Despite how tired he was, if Tony knew where the cowardly leader of the cursed organization was hiding he would give or do anything to kill him.

Was anything worth it anymore?

Back at the mansion Logan was laid in the med room so Hank could clean up the wounds. Xavier had all ready been notified and so had the older students. The others were to be kept in the dark for as long as possible. There was no doubt that a strange kind of denial hung at the back of everyone's minds. The Wolverine just couldn't die.

Hank came to greet the party with slumped shoulders but a calm face. It was obvious that he had all ready shed a few tears.

"He's in here." Fury directed gently, opening a door to reveal a low table with a body bag strapped to it.

Hank remained silent and brushed past Fury, expressionless. He undid the straps and then the body bag, gently lifting Logan's body into his arms, cradling him as if he were a child. Logan's head lay back limply against Hanks arm, his face calm. Lifeless.

Tony held Pepper tenderly as she knotted her fingers into his sweaty shirt and cried. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent to calm his own sorrow.

"Oh Logan." Pepper sobbed, snuggling into Tony even further. She was wearing the ring he had given her moments before he had left to battle Hydra. He didn't want to leave her with nothing while he was gone, especially because there was the very real chance that he wouldn't make it back. The wedding would now have to wait. Just the day before Tony left, Pepper had been planning. Following typical Tony style he couldn't wait more than a few days, and quite frankly, neither could she. Despite being worried about him while he had been away, she couldn't help but search for dresses with Kitty in his absence. She had all ready picked one out.

Seeing the ring glittering on Pepper's finger both saddened and comforted Tony. He loved Pepper, and now she was his. But the wedding wouldn't be complete. Tony had all ready picked Logan as his best man. He sighed into her hair, leaning back against his bed frame, curling up with her. They soon fell into an exhausted sleep, Pepper cradled against Tony's warm chest.

"How is he?" The professor asked quietly, rolling up behind Hank. The normally eloquent mutant was silent. Xavier rolled up beside him. "Or should I be asking how you are?" He asked gently.

Hank turned a big furry head in the professor's direction. "He's cleaned up." He said numbly, leaning on the table that Logan was laying on. "I was just going to move him to one of the beds until-" He choked off, unable to finish.

Xavier turned to look at Logan for himself, sadness clogging his heart. How many would follow before his dream got any foothold? He placed a hand on Logan's cool forehead, closing his eyes. He needed some kind of conformation. If the mind had died then he would be truly convinced.

The Next Day……..

"Are you sure you want to do this?" The Professor asked Pepper gently, searching her for reluctance. There was none.

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to have the wedding in memory of Logan. We can bury him afterwards. No man like that should die and have a burial like anyone. Tony is sure too. We want Logan to be there in one sense or another." She finished, her voice breaking somewhat at the end. Tony squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Very well. And you've invited all of the Avengers?"

She nodded. "As long as there is room for them to stay that long, yes."

"Another night won't hurt. We have plenty of room." Charles replied confidently. "Kurt will be ready for you at sunset."

Pepper nodded and smiled gratefully.

"And thank you. I'm sure Logan would be honored to know that he was still a part of your wedding."

* * *

Even though I would love to leave you on this note and make you sweat for a while, I am going to cave and post the next ch right now. *sigh* Maybe it will earn me reviews.................. ;D


	16. Tribute Unneeded

Sorry if I am spelling Storm's name wrong, it's what I'm used too and I don't feel like going back through the entire story to fix it =S. Are you guys mad at me yet?

* * *

Pepper was in her room getting dressed up with the help of Rogue, Ororo, Kitty, and Jean. Her dress was floor length, white, with a lace design down both sleeves. It didn't 'poof out' like a typical wedding dress, but rather trailed down her like a pure fountain, beads causing it to glitter and shimmer when she moved. The train was long, flowing behind her gracefully. Her bouquet of flowers were black in respect to Logan.

"You look wonderful." Jean said, stepping back to observe her handy work. "Tony's not going to be able to focus." She grinned.

Pepper smiled back, a twinge of sadness still in the base of all this. One thing that saddened her was that her parents couldn't be there. It was too short notice, they would never approve of Tony, and both were strictly anti-mutant. She sighed. Ever since she was a little girl she had dreamed of the day her father would give her away. Now the job had passed to the Professor.

"Are you ready?" Rogue asked, a hand on the bedroom door handle. Rogue, Storm, Jean, and Kitty were all dressed in their bridesmaid dresses. All in all, it was good that the Professor had good connections. They had been able to get the dresses in a matter of hours.

Outside, Kurt stood tall, wearing a priest gown and clerical collar. Tony stood near him on a slightly raised pavilion in the middle of the school's beautiful garden. There was little decoration added; the flowers, trellises with winding vines, and fountains were all most too beautiful to believe. Storm had applied her power to make it calm and warm, a sky with drifting clouds catching the sun as it began it's decent below the horizon. It was almost time.

"Really, you look beautiful Virginia." Charles said, dressed in his best suit as well. The Avengers were all ready settled outside, an interesting mix of characters all united for the ceremony.

Pepper took a deep breath, now getting excited despite herself.

Suddenly the Professor looked at his pocket watch. "Oh, will you excuse me for a moment? I just remembered something." He said apologetically. "I need to find Hank."

Pepper nodded mutely, biting her lip. It was probably about Logan. Getting distracted, she wandered to where the men were waiting, Gambit, Colossus, Peter, and Warren.

"My don't you look absolutely beautiful!" Gambit exclaimed, seeing her first. "I am truly honored to be included." He said graciously, bowing and kissing her hand. She blushed.

Before she could say anything, she heard a huffing coming from the hallway, and Hank came running into view. Pepper grew alarmed.

"Hank, what's wrong??"

He grinned, happy tears running down his face. "Nothing, I just didn't want you to miss your best man before you go out there!" He said happily.

Pepper was confused. "But-"

"But what?" She heard from behind Beast. That voice was too familiar, but no…

Logan stepped out from behind Hank, dressed in a suit, freshly trimmed and polished for the wedding. He even had a flower in his button hole.

Pepper completely lost it.

She flew over to Logan, hugging him so tight even _he_ thought his ribs might break. She sobbed into his shirt, completely ruining her makeup.

"Hey, hey darlin'" He soothed, hugging her gently and running a hand over her head and through her hair. "You're gonna ruin your good looks for Tony if you keep this up."

Pepper shook her head against him. "He won't care, how Logan?" She whispered. "You were…."

"I know. Carbonadium does weird things to my brain. As soon as it wears off my healing factor wakes me up." He explained gently.

"Oh Logan, I'm so glad you're ok."

"Yea, me too." He chuckled. The warm sound reverberated through his chest, tickling her.

"Now." He said, pushing her back and wiping her face. "Let's not keep him waiting any longer, it just isn't fair to dangle a prize like this in front of a man."

* * *

Aww, I do like happy endings after all!! Had you all going though, didn't I? Don't worry, there will be a ch or two to come. And a very possible sequal. Per request, I will try to include more Gambit in the sequel too! Drama curve over done? Just right? Let me know!


	17. Everybody loves a party

Here is the last chapter. A big thank you to all my faithful readers, and I hope I didn't disappoint! Here's to happy endings and a likely sequel!!

* * *

Tony stood in front of the stand that Nightcrawler was behind, taking a deep breath as the music started and the bridesmaids and grooms took their places.

And he did a double take.

Instead of Xavier walking Pepper down the isle, Logan was at her side, his arm looped around hers, looking more trim than Tony could have imagined he could look.

There was a gasp from the audience as Logan appeared, and everyone stood, talking all at once. Pepper was grinning from ear to ear. Logan finished the walk down the isle and took his place down right from Tony, looking slightly smug.

"Well you sure know how to make an entrance." Tony muttered in his direction.

"So I got a sense o' theater, so sue me." Logan chuckled softly back.

Still blown away by Logan's reappearance, Tony turned his attention on Pepper, and forgot everything else.

She was more beautiful that he could have thought possible.

Kurt gave the congregation permission to sit, smiling with tears of joy running down his face. 'Thank you Father.' He prayed silently.

"We are gathered here today in the presence of God to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony……"

"Logan!! What the heck happened!!???" Tony demanded, the second he was done kissing Pepper. He figured he wouldn't wait; everyone in the assembly was dying to know how Logan had, well, not died.

"What do you want, a speech?"

"Yes! If you can survive being without a heartbeat for over 24 hours then you can survive a short explanation."

Logan sighed. "My brain wasn't dead."

"And….." Tony prompted.

"What? You want the whole medical report?"

"YES!" Everyone demanded at once.

"I was hit with carbonadium, it kills my healing factor, but it preserves my brain. That's why even if my body dies my brain is ok. As soon as the carbonadium wears out, my healing factor kicks in and wakes me up." He gave a playful glare in Tony's direction. "Happy?"

"For now. You gave us all a very nasty scare. Not cool dude. You can pay for this for a while."

"What? It isn't enough that I dressed up in a freaking tux for this thing?"

Everyone laughed.

"Oh leave Logan alone and come here. Pepper laughed, pulling Tony by the tie and into another kiss.

When they broke off Tony growled suggestively, grinning her favorite 'naughty grin'.

"Who's ready for some cake?"

Logan quickly found out that it may have been better to stay dead until _after_ the wedding party. He also found out that he did **not** like wedding cake. He would probably have to clean his claws for a week to get all the frosting deposits off.

The cake fight was the worst, and best time he had had in a very long time. The tux was far beyond the point of no return, and Logan's hair was practically purple and pink from all the food dye. But it was worth it. Everyone (with the exception of Pepper and Tony) went to bed with full stomachs and enough exercise to make them sleep a month. As for Tony, Logan was right, it was cruel to dangle a prize like that in front of a man. Pepper didn't think he'd ever let her go; and she was perfectly all right with that.


End file.
